Pages

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Armchair BEA - Hi there!

Hi everyone! It's Armchair BEA time! For those of you who do not know, Book Expo of America is being held this week in New York city. This is like a dream come true for most book bloggers! You get to go and interact with all the large publishing houses, and many of the small, check out the upcoming releases, pick up ARCs, meet authors and get books signed, and last but not least meet many of the people you've been connecting with via social media. FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

Unfortunately for a multitude of reasons a lot of book bloggers are not able to make it to BEA in New York. Then Armchair BEA was formed. Armchair BEA will allow bloggers to follow along at home, network with each other, participate in twitter parties. and giveaways from their own home.

I was lucky enough to win a bloggers pass through Armchair BEA and ended up turning it down because there was no way that I could arrange 4 days in NYC in 16hrs. Today I had the revelation that I didn't have to go for all 4 days! I could go for just one day if I wanted! I contacted Armchair BEA and luckily they still had a pass available, soooooo.....I'm going to BEA!!!! I haven't decided whether it will be Tuesday or Wednesday yet, but I WILL be there! In the mean time I would like to kick off Armchair BEA with an introduction. Participants have been asked to answer 5 questions as a way of getting to know each other. So with out further ado...

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Hi, My name is Debbie. I have 3 kids, one of whom is grown, one about to graduate Pre-K, if you can believe it, and one starting Pre-k next year. I'm a retired paramedic and am now playing the role of Stay-at-Home Mom. A Library of our Own has only been active for a little over two months but I have loved it! I started the blog as a way to record what I and my two children were reading. The blog has turned into much more than that on my end but unfortunately I have yet to figure out a good format to highlight G and E's reading. I'm still working on it. Now it looks like my eldest daughter might be joining us too, fingers crossed!

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. Wow! Just one. That's going to be hard as there are not many non-book-related things that have come up on my blog so far. Randomly, I've danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly in DC. SO MUCH FUN! Feel free to ask for more random pieces of info if you would like to know!

Where do you see your blog in five years? If my blog lasts 5 years there are many things I would like to see happen. I definitely want to have figured out how to include G and E appropriately, though by then hopefully they'll be able to write their own reviews! I would like to polish the look of my blog and have my own URL. I would like to be entrench in the book blogging community. I would also like to have a lot of author interaction and move more towards recommending books than "reviewing" them as I am by no means a literary critic. Let's not even mention improving my writing! :) Oops, I wasn't suppose to mention that...

If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? This is an incredibly hard one because there are so many authors and characters I would love to get to know. My answer might also change given any multitude of variables at any time. For right now I am going to say Alice Steinbach, author of Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman. This book was given to me at exactly the right time and inspired me so much and gave me the courage to travel as an independent woman myself. I would love to let her know how she affected my life and to learn more about the woman behind the book. Who is she? What led to her travels? How does she feel about them now? There are just so many questions!

So there you have it! I hope that this has given you a little insight into myself and A Library of our Own. I would be happy to answer any other questions you may have and am looking forward to both Armchair BEA and BEA! Click here to see other introduction posts! Have a wonderful week!

40 comments:

Nice to "meet" another Debbie and I also have a little one who graduates from pre-k next week and will be starting kindergarten in the Fall. My younger son will be starting preschool come fall as well and it will be nice to have just one school drop off :)

I love Stephanie Laurens and I am impressed you danced on a Coyote Ugly bar. I would never have worked up the nerve. lol. Feel free to stop by my armchair BEA introduction.

Have you thought about maybe a weekly feature for G and E? They can have a day where the books they're reading are highlighted and then you can have a page with them that has a history of all the books they've read? Just a suggestion! :-)

I hope you like blogging - it's great and it's great to have you here too!

I'm jealous of your dance on the bar, how amazing is that! I adore The Thriteenth Tale so I'm glad I'm not alone in that. And I have to admit I've never read Charlotte's Web, it's one I plan on reading though. Hope you are enjoying The Uninvited Guests, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but I loved it.

The only book I've read of the ones you've mentioned is Charlotte's Web. It's a brilliant book that is definitely a highlight of my childhood reading experience. I'm sure your kids will enjoy it! And dancing in a bar (pub)? That is incredibly BRAVE of you! I don't have it in me to do the same :)

I love your idea of having your kids write reviews! Mine are still too young, but I definitely am attracted to the idea of reviewing children's books and including their thoughts in the review. I'll probably add a section to my site for children's books soon, since there's SO MANY and it's hard to tell which ones are worth getting for your kids.

Charlotte's Web is one of my all-time favorites. When I was thinking of what character I'd like to have lunch with for one of the Armchair BEA questions, Charlotte was actually one of the characters that popped into my head.

Nice to meet you! And thanks for checking out my blog, too! Some of your favorites this year are favorites of mine too. I love the Thirteenth Tale . . . it reminded me a lot of Shadow of the Wind by Carlo Ruiz Zafon. Have you read that?

What fun getting to attend BEA!!!! if you are at all interested & time allows try to find out which publishing house is having their blogger reception on the day you can go. It's a great way to meet fellow bloggers & get your name on THE lists. Another tip would be to pick the main publishers you want to work with this year and fill oot the BEAmy show planner. This will get you plugged in with the publishing houses throughout the year by getting YOUR name on THEIR lists. Most of all wear comfy shoes and enjoy yourself! Oh, and be selective about what books you DO pick up- you could end up leaving with over 75 books & then feel guilty til you get them read & reviewed! Welcome to the book blogging community. :-D

I've heard of some but not others of the books you mention. Congrats on the BEA pass, hope you do get to enjoy, even if just for a day. Better than the rest of us!! ;)And wow, I though the five years between my two was enough..eeeekkkk

Ooo, what a great reading list! I have numerous books that I am currently reading right now too, but, I have to admit, sometimes I get a bit confused, lol! I'm going to have to narrow my list down too! It was nice to 'meet' you today! Enjoy the rest of the week and happy reading :)

Oh hooray! Another mom-blogger with small children! I'm a former classroom teacher/librarian turned SAHM to my 3yo and 6mo. So much of my blogging is about what I read with them. Glad to have found you!

Hi, Debbie! Love the Calling Invisible Women is one of your favorite books of the year - you haven't reached the menopausal invisible age yet but when you're the mom of kids as young as yours, it can really feel like you're invisible, that you're only "mommy" and not you any more.

About Me

I am a 38yo married, retired paramedic, turned SAHM/compulsive book reader. I have three children. One grown non-reader, much to my dismay, and two pre-school age children. I enjoy reading with my children and reading to escape my children :). I wouldn't mind reading to our two cats but they seem to prefer to eat the books than to listen to them! Among my other interests are cooking, going to the theater, trying a wonderful new restaurant, travel, and crocheting the occasional afghan.